I Know
by jamesandlilypotter81
Summary: James does something stupid (like always), Lily is infuriated (of course), and the house-elves are sneaky.


She's never been this mad at him before.

It's no secret that he is a prankster, a joker, the sort of bloke who can't take a single thing seriously—she had known all that when she agreed to go out with him. And while there is a small part of her that understands what he has done—even somewhat admires him for it—she mostly feels frustrated that she is quite possibly dating the stupidest boy in the entire school. _Honestly_.

Her foot taps against the floor incessantly as she waits, her lips pressed in a thin line, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She knows that the moment he walks into the common room, he'll see her, and that's exactly what she wants. She wants to see the look on his face when he realizes that she _knows_, that he can no longer hide it from her. (Then again , a part of her hopes he has the Cloak on him, and knows better than to take it off).

The fireplace is roaring, and Lily finds herself wondering about when exactly the house-elves come by to make sure it's still alive. She's never been awake for this long—in all her time at Hogwarts, she's never had to pull an all-nighter, never fell asleep on the comfy chairs in front of the fireplace. Compared to James, she's downright boring….

And just like that, her ire with James returns in full force, and she's ready to strangle him again.

She must doze off, because the next thing she knows, James is shaking her awake, whispering that she should go up to her dormitory to sleep. He doesn't want her to get a crick in her neck, he says, looking all innocent. Lily, however, takes advantage of the fact that he's so close and, shaking off her drowsiness rather quickly, lands a punch on James's shoulder—a low blow, considering the fact that she was there when he fell off his broom during Quidditch practice, injuring it in the first place.

"Oi! What was that for?" he asks in a harsh whisper, rubbing the shoulder, actually having the gall to look upset with her. The fact that his face is flushed, he seems sweaty, and his clothes are disheveled just makes Lily even madder.

"You're a right prat, you know that, Potter?" she answers, glaring at him as she stands up. James, very intelligently, takes several steps back, though he seems confused.

"What?"

"I _know_." He blinks, and then nods slowly.

"That's brill?"

"No, you don't understand. I _know_."

"Lil, we talked about this. I can't read your mind, can I? You have to actually _talk _to me." He looks tired, and Lily knows why, and as she thinks about why he's so tired, she feels like punching him again in his injured shoulder.

"I know where you've been," she says after a short silence, her whisper rather harsh. At first, it's clear that James doesn't understand her, but then—as it dawns on him—his eyes widen in shock, and then in fear.

"Lily—"

"I can't believe you," she interrupts, poking him in the chest. She hears stairs creaking, and she realizes that his two cohorts are under the Cloak and sneaking away. Her first instinct is to call after them, but she suppresses it quickly, knowing that she can take care of them later.

For now, she has a point to make.

"You have—"

"I _trusted_ you. I _believed_ you. And you _lied_ to me." With each sentence, James flinches, as if she had literally stabbed him.

"You don't understand, Lil," he says weakly, taking a step forward.

"I don't understand? Now you're insulting my intelligence!"

"No, of course not. It's just, we _had_ to. You realize that, right?"

"Of course I realize that! But it doesn't change the fact that you _lied_." And this, more than anything, is why she is mad. Of course, she thinks he's stupid. She thinks that he's hit his head one too many times, but he's a dimwit with a big and kind heart, and she can't exactly begrudge him for that. But she almost _hates_ him for lying. James runs his fingers through his hair, shaking his head repeatedly.

"I never exactly lied. I said I'd be with the boys. And I was with the boys."

"Oh, c'mon James. You know an omission like that is the same as lying."

"Really? What about you and Mary, saying that you were going to the library, but you actually spent most of the day in the kitchens _without me_?"

"That's not the same and you know it!"

"I don't see the difference. You omitted something. I omitted something." He seems so pleased with himself, and suddenly, Lily is rather close to pulling out her own hair in frustration.

"James, contrary to what you may think, everything is _not_ a joke."

"I'm not joking! You spent maybe ten minutes in the library. I do have feelings, you kno—"

"James!" Perhaps something in her voice finally got through to James, because he lets out a groan and stares her down.

"Merlin, Lily! Why is this such a big deal?" he shouts, shoving his hands in his pockets. For a second, Lily considers just walking off. It's late, and she's tired of arguing with him. Clearly there's no point; he is determined to not understand her. But then she remembers the first time she was tempted to say yes when he asked her out (sometime in fifth year, she thinks), how his eyes shone when they were on their first date, and the way he seems to brighten once he sees her every morning and she suddenly wonders…was she being unfair? After all, she had already admitted to herself that she found what he and his friends had done to be admirable. Is his little omission really such a big deal at the end of the day?

"I…do you…it's just…"

"Spit it out, Lily," James says tiredly, rubbing his temples.

"You could have died!" she shouts, her mouth formulating a response before he brain had a chance to review what she wants to say. "And where does that leave me? If something happens, and I think you're 'out with the mates' but you're actually running around with a werewolf and you've been maimed or something—"

"Whoa, Lil, slow down. Why would I be maimed?"

"I dunno!" she practically wails. "I don't know how it works when you spend a night with a werewolf!" James actually has the nerve to laugh, and he steps over to her and envelops her in a tight hug.

"You sound like Remus," he whispers in her ear, still chuckling. Lily pushes him away, unwilling to let his charm get to her. She's mad at him, she firmly reminds herself. A hug, and laugh, and a quick joke can't get him out of everything.

"Well, then Remus knows what he's talking about," she hisses, glaring at him. "You realize it's _dangerous_, right?"

"It's not that dangerous, Lily," he says comfortingly, not really comforting her. "Sirius, Peter, and I have got it down to an exact science." He pauses for dramatic effect and winks at her. "We're Animagus. Remus can't hurt us as animals." Lily rolls her eyes, knowing that James's had thought that dropping the word 'Animagus' would be some sort of bombshell. Maybe shock her into silence and letting go of her anger.

"If I found out about Remus, don't you think I know about the Animagus thing as well?"

"It was worth a try." She shakes her head, and raises an eyebrow. "So how did you find out?" he asks, now looking curious, which sort of makes her feel as if he's missing the entire point of the conversation.

"Does that matter?"

"Well, yeah! If you found out, can you imagine how many other people could be walking around, knowing exactly what we've been up to?" She's not quite sure whether to be glad that he sounds so impressed, or upset because it's _grudgingly_ impressed (as if he's unhappy that she had been clever enough to figure it out).

"I doubt anyone else cares enough to figure it out." James's eyes widen, as if he's just realized what he's said.

"Okay, I said that wrong, I'm sorry." She's not quite sure what happens in the second that follows, but James must have seen something on her face because he softens considerably, and sincerity shines in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Lil," he says quietly, giving her the smallest of smiles. "It wasn't my secret to tell."

"You three could have died," she mumbles, shaking her head.

"But we didn't," he jokes, shrugging sheepishly.

"What about the next full moon? Or the one after that?" she demands, feeling of rush of anger fill her up again. She's finally pinpointed why she's upset—it isn't that he lied (she sort of expects that by now, after all, the only thing she's completely sure of is how he feels about her), and it isn't that he's an illegal Animagus. It's that he could get hurt, even die, while he's out being noble.

She's afraid that she'll lose him because he has a big heart.

Perhaps James realizes that this is an argument he just won't win, or maybe he agrees that, on some level, she's right. Whatever it is, his shoulders sag, and he looks defeated. "Happy birthday, Lil," he says, taking her hand and holding it tightly.

"I'm surprised you even remembered, what with the running around with a werewolf thing you have going." He smiles at her, and her anger gives away—as she knew it eventually would. After all, _technically, _he hadn't done anything wrong (though she was sure the Ministry would disagree).

"As if I could possibly forget."

"This conversation isn't over, you know that, right? Once Remus is better, and your two friends hiding in the stairwell finally remember they're Gryffindors, we'll revisit this." James laughs, and leans in for a quick kiss.

"Oh, I know," he says with another laugh. "I know."


End file.
